Leo Burnett India has announced the appointments of Saraswathi Laxman and Gaurav Dudeja as executive vice presidents.
The duo will be based in New Delhi and will head a unit each. They will report to Samir Gangahar, president - North, Leo Burnett India.
Laxman joins from ABP News where she was marketing head, while Dudeja was head of brand and marketing at Fortis Healthcare.
Gangahar said, “It is wonderful to have Saraswathi and Gaurav on board heading the two units within the Delhi office. Both being seasoned advertising and marketing professionals, they understand the need to solve clients’ business problems and will work together with our vast pool of specialists across media, digital, experiential, innovation and production to drive integrated solutions.”
Laxman has had stints with Tata International Wolverine Brands, Trent, J. Walter Thompson, Publicis, Lowe Lintas and McCann Erickson.
Laxman said, “As the environment of communication and clients’ marketing needs is going through a dramatic transformation and evolving dynamically, I felt it was the right time to come back to advertising. The Power of One philosophy being driven by Leo Burnett and the ambition of integration is where the future lies. That excited me the most and made me want to be a part of that journey, and to be part of the team to drive Leo Burnett India to the next level.”
Dudeja has also worked with Philips India and DDB Mudra.
Dudeja said, “This is going to be my second stint in advertising, and it looks like an exciting time to make a comeback in the industry. Especially at a place like Leo Burnett, where I see an honest attempt to not only drive integration, but also a conviction to develop ideas that come alive in real acts and not just conventional ads. This makes advertising as rich and as interesting to me as marketing has been, with in fact a larger canvas of opportunity across multiple categories and brands. I feel that my time in marketing has added a new dimension to my thinking process, and I’m genuinely excited at the prospect of leveraging it for our brands to create work that’s integrated, effective and memorable.”
